The KeyAni adaptations and harem visual novel adaptations in general are beset by a tendency to relegate some if not every female character to a setup for an emotional punchline figuratively and literally as the narrative climaxes tend to involve the central character getting maimed physically and/or emotionally. Once sympathy is maximally bled from the girl she is disposed of either by narrative convenience or hasty preoccupancy with the next girl. This sadistic pattern emerges naturally from the harem visual novel but what works in a video game doesnt translate quite well onto the TV screen. Television lacks the agency and immediacy found in games so time devoted to developing a female character and her relationship to the MC becomes wasted once she is tossed for the next never to have an inkling of relevance outside of best girl polls again. What are some ways to remedy this narrative disease endemic to harem VN adaptations? Toeis solution was the virtue of economic storytelling. For the movie adaptations of Air and Clannad Makoto Nakamura stripped the source materials of their character and route multiplicities resulting in typical monogamous romance tales. Consequently they have fairly coherent narratives yet they feel rushed and lack the wholeness of a fully realized story. How can an adaptation avoid the aforementioned flaws of a harem VN without abandoning the harem? Theres a cafe scene in Kanons fourteenth episode in which one of the characters asks the MC Yuuichi if he recognizes the song playing over the speakers. The piece Pachelbels Canon is not only the shows namesake but its narrative foundation. Like a canon in which a melody the leader or dux is introduced and played again later in some forms of contrapuntal imitation the main approach employed in Kanons structure is the reiteration of narrative on multiple diegetic levels. The most pronounced manifestation of the canon is written into the broad history of Yuuichis time spent in the snowcovered city. Over the course of the show the current timeline is slowly revealed to be a repetition of past events from Yuuichis last visit setting the musical duration at seven years. Kanon chooses to present the past in an impressively seamless manner. Instead of inserting flashbacks at narratively convenient moments via battle shounenstyle Yuuichi rediscovers his history through dreams which doubly serve as pacing buffers between the cycles of his daily routine. By bookending each day with a dream of the past the events from seven years prior are incorporated into the current and the discrete timelines begin to harmonize until the past collapses into the present. The first couple episodes set Kanons rhythm each girl is introduced into the daily routine coming in gradually as reiterations of a similar sob story from Yuuichis forgotten past. The schedule is thus: wake up and eat breakfast with Nayuki and Ayu walk to school with Nayuki eat lunch with Sayuri and Mai skip a bit of class to meet up with Shiori outside the school eat taiyaki after school with Ayu foil Makotos nighttime pranks. Yuuichi learns something new about one of the girls with each iteration: one day he realizes Shiori may have a sister in his grade the next day he finds out Mais birthday is upcoming and buys an impromptu birthday gift for her. Its never really predictable which of the arcs will be explored next the show keeps you guessing by weaving important details about different characters together. This way each arc is developed alongside another and the show constructs a braided narrative rather than a segmented pastiche of the MCs romantic life. Motifs shared between the character arcs include hospitalized family members novelties gifted by the MC especially hair bands forlorn promises gastronomic affinities influenced by the MC and wishes/dreams in media res. The arcs resemble each other and though this type of bad writing is pathological in these adaptations it actually works whether intended or by happenstance in favour of the show establishing a main theme like a canons dux. As in a canon where the intricacies of the leader unfurl through repetition and interplay between its followers these characters are developed steadily at intervals in the slice of life narrative. The slice of life segments are employed with expertise here ingratiating the viewers with each girl at a steady repetitive pace. Repetition is key even in the comedy found in the short manzai routines or the character specific gags for example Akikos special jam became more amusing with each introduction to a new characters palette. As the days repeat the daily narrative begins to denature and break down as the voices play out to their natural conclusion. The different arcs are explored and conclude and respective characters drop out Makoto disappears Mai and Sayuri are hospitalized Shiori is hospitalized but not completely since they are permutations of the leading melody and their presence can still be discerned in the remainder of the show e.g. the snow bunny reminds Yuuichi of Mai creating a snow bunny zoo for her mother instead of Nayukis confession the spectral Makoto watches over Yuuichi during the climax of Nayuki/Ayus arc. Nothing feels extra or wasted and each arc comes to a satisfying conclusion. Kanon is a glimpse at what the ideal harem VN adaptation should be. Repetition espouses the harem allowing each arc to resonate on its own yet tethering it to a thematic principle. That being said the faithfulness to the magical realism of the source material undermines the tone at times. Makotos arc can be given a pass as her overwhelming desireturnedtomiraculous incarnation has mythological and folkloric roots. A relationship with a foxturnedgirl may be morally dubious but the concept isnt entirely strange. Rather than the miracle itself the real hiccup is the shows explanation opting to introduce an extraneous character who has had a similar experience and can thus elucidate and dispel the mystical. The show also delves completely into Makotos arc for three episodes ruining the pacing by returning to the typical isolated arc structure of a harem in which the rest of the cast is largely ignored. Mais arc is the guiltiest of flouting aesthetic distance dark shounenesque sword battles with invisible demons run completely perpendicular to the light slice of life school routine. The supernatural mechanics are given a halfassed explanation: Mais healing powers somehow manifested themselves into fake beings with real tangible consequences? The reasons are unidentified not that everything needs to be mystic and vague circumstances are often a given when dealing with supernatural phenomenon and are part of the appeal but when a how is more or less provided its only natural to question the why. Her arc comes to a climax when she impales herself with her sword after which she walks away completely unscathed. The scene is full of such bombast and unwarranted melodrama that the show for the first and only time truly flaunts its Key genetics. Thankfully the subsequent arc Shioris proves to be the most mature and profound staying entirely grounded in realism and containing only one crying scene of which is not even enacted by the arcs heroine. Interestingly the final arc explores two characters Ayu and Nayuki simultaneously. As a sort of coda the last episode restores Yuuichis harem by revisiting the daily schedule thus completing the Kanon. As an addendum Id also like to praise the OP. The sweeping medium shot zoom in/outs are absolutely breathtaking it looks as if a camera was actually used.